Starmer States No Current Intentions to Join Bluesky

Sir Keir Starmer has stated that he currently has “no plans” to become a user of the Bluesky social media platform. The application, which serves as an alternative to Elon Musk’s X, has experienced a surge in popularity over recent weeks. Bluesky has, on occasion, held the top position as the most downloaded application in both the US and UK Apple Stores, as numerous social media users have departed from X following the US election. However, the prime minister informed reporters that “at the moment,” there are no intentions to create official UK government accounts or a personal account for him on the platform. Several politicians, such as former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and treasury minister Darren Jones, have already established Bluesky accounts. During his address at the G20 summit in Brazil, Sir Keir articulated that it is “important for a government” to maintain the ability to communicate with “as many people as possible,” further stating, “we’re obviously still using Twitter (X).” While X does not disclose its overall user figures, it is generally understood that its user base is in the hundreds of millions. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey initiated Bluesky in 2019. This week, the platform declared that its user count had exceeded 19 million. Although Mr Dorsey contributed to its funding and inception, he is no longer affiliated with the team operating the social network. A primary distinction between Bluesky and the majority of other social media platforms is its decentralized nature, which signifies that it functions on independent servers rather than those owned by the company itself. The platform characterizes itself as “social media as it should be” – a venue where individuals can connect based on common interests “and have some fun again.” Numerous new users have indicated that their choice to join Bluesky was influenced by Elon Musk, who strongly supported Donald Trump’s election campaign and plans to maintain involvement in the incoming administration. The Guardian declared last week that it would cease posting on X, stating that the US election highlighted its worries that Musk had been able to utilize X to “shape political discourse.” Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content found on external sites. Information regarding our approach to external linking is available.